Might the Anti Smoking Law in England Take Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Web?
An abundance has been talked in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. But does the web version of this traditional game offer a escape, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an established game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over UK.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most popular locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players realize that they can participate in bingo using their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the net will never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with little option.